Okay, there may be a little waste after this activity or you may want to look up a quick and easy recipe and use the yeast right away. let's move into the kitchen and begin exploring yeast in real time, active or instant yeast, either will work. #Day 5: Meet the Yeast Everything you need can be found on the card or click the link above and you'll go to the classroom. Let us know if you try this!! Note: To make things easier to find in the future, click Classroom, then Curious Kitchen Lab. All experiments from this week can be found in the Mix, Bubble, and Bake unit.

Have you ever noticed that children seem to have a natural love for secret codes? Who here can remember decoder rings in cereal boxes?! Give a kid a decoder wheel, a made-up language, a hidden message, or even a note written in symbols, and suddenly you’ve created a mystery worth solving. It doesn’t seem to matter how old they are, there’s something deeply appealing about knowing a secret that not everyone else can read. A quick look at the history of codes since people have been hiding messages from one another for thousands of years. One of the earliest known examples comes from ancient Sparta, where military leaders used a device called a scytale. A strip of leather was wrapped around a wooden rod, and the message only made sense when wrapped around a rod of the same size. Julius Caesar later used a simple letter-shifting system that we now call the Caesar Cipher. During World War II, entire teams of mathematicians, linguists, and codebreakers worked to decipher enemy communications, sometimes changing the course of history. What fascinates me is that codes sit at the intersection of so many different skills. They involve language, pattern recognition, logic, observation, creativity, and persistence. They require us to look beyond what is obvious and search for clues hidden beneath the surface. Children naturally practice many of these same skills during play. They create secret clubs, invent symbols, write notes only their friends can understand, and delight in hiding meaning in plain sight. To them, it feels like a game. Underneath, they’re experimenting with communication and problem-solving. This week, consider creating a simple secret code of your own. It doesn’t have to be complicated. Replace letters with symbols. Shift the alphabet by a few spaces. Create a family code word for something ordinary. Then leave a message for someone to discover. You may find that the challenge isn’t creating the code. It’s resisting the urge to give away the answer too quickly.

The full activity with downloads and variations can be found here #Day 2: Secret Code Breakers. The full Play Lab unlocks at Level 2. Secret Code Breakers Codes can look impossible at first, but most codes have a pattern hiding inside them. This mission gives families a playful way to practice looking for patterns, testing ideas, and solving something together. Gather Your Gear - Paper - Pencil - Alphabet chart or written alphabet - Index cards or small scraps of paper - Optional: envelope - Optional: markers or colored pencils - Optional: timer Steps 1. Write the alphabet from A to Z across the top of a piece of paper. 2. Create a simple number code by matching each letter to a number. A = 1B = 2C = 3D = 4 Continue until Z = 26. 3. Write a short secret message using numbers instead of letters. Example: 16 - 12 - 1 - 25 This spells: PLAY 4. Give the coded message to someone else and let them solve it using the alphabet key. 5. Once they solve it, switch roles and let them create a message for you. 6. Talk about what helped: - Did you look for repeated numbers? - Did you check the alphabet key each time? - Did any words become easier once you solved part of the message? Twist Try a harder code. Instead of A = 1, shift the alphabet by one letter. A = BB = CC = D Now the word PLAY becomes QMBZ. Try writing and solving a short message with the shifted alphabet. You can also create your own family code using symbols, shapes, colors, or tiny drawings instead of letters.

Here’s a fun activity I would play with my kids when we traveled. It ties in great with yesterday’s prompt of myth making and storytelling. When playing at home, everyone builds on the story by adding a sentence or idea. I would designate one person as scribe. The scribe writes down the story and reads it back at the end and also plays. For our online version, I’ll start the story and everyone gets to add a sentence. Rules: - One sentence at a time - You can add more than one sentence but they can’t be in a row. - Copy the existing story into a comment and add your sentence. Story ends at 11:59 pm CDT today. I’ll start. Tagging a few to get us started. Thanks @Allan R. for the first sentence. @Daniel Cavaretta @Adam Formanek @Betty Jo Winters @Mayelice Castro @Andrea Quintal Portas @Anna Brown @Janell Bitton @Blue Mojo @Celia Kibler @Charlie Svensson @Aurelie Delahalle @Gus Gray @Max Orlewicz @Lisa Vanderveen @Mukkove Johnson

The Play Lab is our newest classroom and unlocks at Level 2. In the Play Lab you get access to additional materials but you don’t need them to compete this activity. Let me know if you try this. The Observation Mission Some of the best problem solvers are the people who notice what everyone else misses. This first mission is a simple way to practice slowing down, paying attention, and spotting details you might normally overlook. Gather Your Gear 8–12 small household objects A tray, plate, or towel to display the objects A cloth, towel, or box to cover the objects Paper Pencil Optional: timer or phone timer Examples of objects: spoon key toy car coin sock button block clothespin marker cap hair tie Steps 1. Gather 8–12 small objects and arrange them on a tray, towel, or table. 2. Invite everyone to study the objects carefully for 30 seconds. 3. Cover the objects so no one can see them. 4. Ask everyone to write down or say as many objects as they can remember. 5. Reveal the objects and compare what people noticed. Talk about what was easy to remember and what was easy to miss. The Twist For a second round, change one thing before revealing the tray again. You can: remove one object add one object swap the location of two objects turn one object upside down Then ask: “What changed?” Variations by Age Ages 3–6 Use 5–6 objects instead of a larger group. Let children point, name, or draw what they remember. Keep the observation time short and playful. Ages 7–12 Increase the number of objects and add more specific observation questions: Which object was the smallest? Which one was a different color? Which object was closest to the edge? You can also let them set up the tray for someone else. Ages 13–17 Increase the challenge by asking for more detailed recall: location of each object color or size details which objects were grouped together You can also introduce categories like: “List everything made of metal.” “Which object changed places?”